Sunday, January 10, 2021

~ MMGM STEAM FEATURE HOMEMADE BIRD FOOD ~

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~ MARVELOUS MIDDLE-GRADE 
MONDAY S.T.E.A.M. FEATURE ~
--  'HOMEMADE BIRD FOOD:
26 FUN & EASY RECIPES TO 
FEED BACKYARD BIRDS'  --
AUTHOR ADELE PORTER

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ABOUT THE BOOK {from Goodreads}:

Find Your Recipe for Bird Watching Success:

A few minutes in the kitchen can become hours of bird watching fun. Take birding to another level by creating unique dishes especially for backyard birds. This creative cookbook turns bird food into a banana split, cupcake, pie, and even tree ornaments. Each dish is perfect to tackle alone or with the whole family.

Inside You'll Find:
26 recipes to attract the birds you want to see
Ingredients that appeal to 70+ bird species, including "hard-to-get" birds
Tips on selecting the right ingredients for the right birds
A handy chart that shows which birds dine on each dish

BONUS: Tips for cooking with kids, wildlife research projects, and a bird-identification section.

See more birds and make birding even more interactive. Invite everybirdy to your yard with a banquet of nutritious, homemade foods.

MORE ABOUT THE BOOK {from ThriftBooks}:

Find Your Recipe for Bird Watching Success:

A few minutes in the kitchen can become hours of bird watching fun. Take birding to another level by creating unique dishes especially for backyard birds. Feed your favorite visitors the foods that they crave--fruit, nuts, seeds, and suet--but prepare them yourself This creative cookbook by Adele Porter turns bird food into a banana split, cupcake, pie, and even tree ornaments. Each dish is perfect to tackle alone or with the whole family.

 Children especially will enjoy helping you put together these visually appealing treats. The ingredients are designed to attract up to 74 different bird species, from hummingbirds to orioles and even "hard-to-get" birds in your area. The beautifully designed, full-color book includes 26 recipes, along with tips on selecting the right ingredients for the right birds. A handy chart shows which types of birds dine on each dish, so you can make the best foods to attract the birds that you want to see. As an added bonus, you'll find tips for cooking with kids, wildlife research projects, a bird-identification section, and more See more birds with this fun and simple way to make bird watching even more interactive. Invite everybirdy to your yard with a banquet of nutritious, homemade foods.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR {from Amazon.com}:

Award-winning author and science educator Adele Porter combines her passion for science and dedication to children in her books. In fact, the students that Adele has worked with during 20 years as an educator inspired Homemade Bird Food. Adele has also written educational materials for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Forest Service and various publications. She is a member of the National Science Teachers’ Association, the American Ornithologists’ Union and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. For Adele, one of the best parts of being an author is meeting the readers of her books at author programs and book signings and hearing their enthusiastic outdoor stories. She looks forward to hearing of your new wildlife adventures! A native of Minnesota, Adele enjoys the time she and her three children spend together more than anything else. 
 
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HERE ARE A FEW PUBLIC DOMAIN
PHOTOS OF SOME OF THE BIRDS
FEATURE IN THIS BOOK
HOW MANY OF THESE FEATHERED
FRIENDS CAN YOU NAME?  

American Robin Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

  Mockingbird In My Backyard Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

ᐈ Titmouse stock pictures, Royalty Free tufted titmouse photos | download  on Depositphotos®

 Altamira Oriole Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

House Sparrow Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

Red Headed House Finch Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

Black-capped Chickadee Close-up Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

 Carolina wren birds public domain free photos for download 3872x2592  934.71KB

Wild Tom Turkey In Spring Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

 Wild Turkeys Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

 Mourning Dove Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

 Public Domain Picture | Goldfinch on a tree branch. | ID: 13483762894288 |  PublicDomainFiles.com

 Northern Flicker In Grass Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

 Red-bellied Woodpecker Portrait Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

Male Northern Cardinal Portrait Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures

 Public Domain Picture | female northern cardinal | ID: 13958252418477 |  PublicDomainFiles.com

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MY THOUGHTS:

This book is catalogued under adult non-fiction, but it is filled with family fun and specific instructions for cooking with children.

The Introduction section of the book includes tips on how to use the book, info on feeding birds by season, descriptions of the various ingredients used in the books including a description of the elusive bird favorite, 'suet'.

The author begins the book with a section entitled, 'Arrange the Dining Room'. She describes almost a dozen facts that readers need to know about safety and purpose when feeding birds.

Next, she features easy-to-read tables about bird types and which foods they like to eat. Then she moves on to a 'Recipe Review' where she teaches readers how to use the recipes included in the book. Finally, there is a large table entitled, 'Recipe Options', which includes dozens of common birds and which specific recipes from the book they will eat.

The recipes are each presented with a colorful photo of the finished dish staged in nature with a bird or two enjoying the bounty. I liked how the recipes were formatted because the ingredients, tools, and directions are easy-to-read and she includes thumbnail photos of the birds which the particular recipe attracts.

The recipes are colorful and clever! Many of them use inexpensive ingredients many people will keep in their pantry such as cornmeal, peanut butter, sugar, oatmeal, fresh fruit, various seeds (sunflower), and dried fruit (raisins). Some of the recipes are more involved than others, but all would be fun to try if you like to cook and bake as much as I do!

As a longtime bird lover, I especially enjoyed the 'Birds You Can Attract' chapter at the end of the book. Here we find photos of some of the most popular birds in the United States along with the name and location where they may be found (i.e., East/West, North, East, etc.).

The back matter includes a couple of lined pages for 'Chef Notes' and a list of two references of useful ornithology books.

Highly-recommended for families, adults, and middle-grade or older children who are comfortable working in the kitchen.

I borrowed a copy of this book from the local public library system.

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Find the links to read more great Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts from middle-grade authors and bloggers at Greg Pattridge's 'Always in the Middle' Blog.


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7 comments:

  1. What a neat book! Making these different types of bird food must make birdwatching a lot more interesting! Thanks for the great review!

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  2. This sounds like it'd be fun for kids who love birds. I bet they'd love trying the recipes.

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  3. What a fun book to have around for kids. And, it's a good way to encourage their an interest in counting birds in their backyards! Excellent winter choice!

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  4. I've spent more time since the pandemic hit really looking at birds. They are fascinating and attracting a few more with food is a great topic for a book. Thanks for featuring on MMGM.

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  5. This sounds fun! One of our favorite activities right now as a family is watching the birds come to our bird feeder. We're always looking up the new ones. I'll have to find this book--it'd be fun to make some new treats for them.

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  6. This looks like a terrific book. I'm a bird lover, so I might try to pick this one up. Thanks for telling me about it.

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  7. What a fun subject. I love to share the bird watching with kids.

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